Agitating device



w. 1. MAY.

AGITATING DEVlCE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.28,19|9. 1,376,561. Patentedlylay 3, 1921.

INVENTOR Wa/erJT/Wy BY l ATTORNEY PATENT li'tiifl.

WALTER J'. MAY, OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK.

AGITATING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Application led March 28, 1919. Serial No. 285,862.

Toi all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, WALTER J. MAY, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of the city of Mount Vernon, in thecounty of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain newand useful Tmprovements in Agitating Devices, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to means for agitating liquids throughinfiltration of air or other gaseous substances therein, and itappertains more particularly to devices employed in the manufacture ofice from raw water frozen in cans and similar containers.

One object of the invention is to produce an improved device of theclass mentioned that can be depended on to operate satisfactorily at lowpressure.

Another object is the production of a device of the nature set forthaffording a tight connection between the air supply hose and the pipe ortube receiving the air therefrom and conveying it to the water inprocess of freezing, thereby insuring an economical air-consumption.

A further object is to provide a device of the character described thatshall be of simple construction, such as can be understood by any personof plain intelligence, and therefore easily manipulated by unskilledlaborers working for a moderate remuneration.

Still another object is the provision of a device of the type specifiedso designed as to place the wear externally on the disconnectible partpertaining to the air supply hose, while insuring durable joints at thepoints of contact thereof with the pipe that conveys the air into thewater, and avoiding internally soft tightening surfaces.

A still further object is to supply a device of the kind referred towhich shall afford the freest passage to the air, without obstructionsof any sort.; that will not be liable to get out of order, thoughadapted to accommodate varying conditions; and at the same time may bemanufactured anywhere at a comparatively low cost of production.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe specification proceeds.

With the aforesaid objects in view, the invention consists of the novelcombinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described in theirpreferred embodiments,

pointed out in the subjoined claims, and illustrated on the annexeddrawing, wherein like parts are designated by the same referencecharacters throughout the several views.

In the said drawings,-

Figure I is a side elevation, showing this improved device applied to acan employed in the manufacture of raw water ice, the can beingrepresented by dot-and-dash lines merely;

Fig. TT is an enlarged broken top plan view of the device removed fromthe icecan;

Fig. IIT is a broken side elevation of the principal portion of thedevice shown on an enltrged scale, part thereof being in section; an

Fig. TV is an edge view of the same portion of the device, looking fromeither side of the preceding ligure.

Generally described, the invention comprises a peculiar form ofresilient support or carrier for a drop-pipe, such as is commonly placedin the cans and similar recipients that hold the raw water, when makingartificial ice. This support or carrier is centrally arched in adownward direction and outwardly inclined toward both ends in such amanner as to enable it to adjust itself to various widths of containers.Furthermore, it serves as a brace interiorly of the can or recipient,and coacts with an exterior band, placed around the latter,.in impartinga desirable rigidity to the saine, which is of especial benefit inmaintaining the drop-pipe correctly positioned throughout the iceforming process. The terminals of the support or carrier, besides,permit it to be applied to the cans or recipients by simplesuperimposition. A socket-piece is also provided on the carrier orsupport, arranged for either permanent or temporary coupling to itsdroppipe. This socket is adapted to make connection alternately with aconduit for the air usually employed to agitate theraw water in the cansor recipients, and with a tube conveying steam to the drop-pipe to thawit out from the frozen water. A yielding and yet tenacious connection isprovided between the` socket and the air supply conduit.

The advantages of the invention as here outlined are best realized whenall of its features and instrumentalities are eembined in the one andsame structure, but,

useful devices may be produced embodying less than the whole.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the inventionappertains, upon becoming conversant with the details thereof, that thesame may be incor aorated in several different constructions. heaccompanying drawing, therefore, is submitted only as showing thepreferred exemplification of the invention.

rllhe cans ordinarily employed in the production of artificial iceconsist of relatively tall recipients, of substantially rectangularcross-section, having two rather' long side walls, as A, united byshorter side walls B, and having a slightly raised bottom C, all asillustrated in Fig. l. Surrounding the upper portion of each recipientis a reinforcing band D, and above it runs a conduit E, intended toconvey compressed air to be forced into the body of water that willproduce theice, through the :freezing process usually followed. Theseare standard parts embodied in can systems for freezing` raw water, andtherefore are not claimed as appertaining to the present invention,except in so far as they may form therewith legitimate combinations ofelements capable of yielding novel and useful results. rThe inventionwill be described in connection with the said parts, as beingpeculiarily applicable thereto, though it is to be noted that otherforms of recipients could be used instead, and the right. to resort tosuch changes is consequently reserved.

Spanning the upper part of the can or recipent made as aforesaid, andlaid transversely of the longer side walls A thereof, isa support 11,consisting preferably of a somewhat flexible or semi-resilient material.In the exemplification of the invention disclosed herein, this supportis shown as having a slightly dished or reversely arched centralportion, designated by the reference numeral 11, and outwardly inclinedmen.- bers 12, rising therefrom, which terminate inhorizontally disposedextremities 13. The members 12 are adapted to engage, frictionally, theopposed inner faces of the walls at the upper ends of the latter, and toexert an outward clamping action thereagainst, approximately oppositethe surrounding band D. The extremities 13 of the supportarelongitudinally offset from the upwardly and outwardly inclined members12, and take over the top edges of the said wallsA, serving to limit theextent to which the-,dished or inverted-arch portion of the support maybe pressed down or lowered into the can or recipient. It will be readilyperceived that, due to theineline of the said members 12 and the bowed,resilient nature of the intermediate portion 11, the support hereinabovedescribed may be fitted to cans varying considerably in width, and

that in each instance it will afford a firm carrier or bridge-pieceacross the upper open end of the can, besides acting as a strengtheninginner brace therefor, within the outer band encompassing the same.

Midway of its span, the support aforesaid is suitably apertured toreceive the threaded end 16, of a drop-pipe 1T, depending therefrom intothe can or recipient, for about two-thirds of the latters depth. Thesaid end 16 is threaded into a socket member 1S, resting upon theinverted arch of thc support, around the central aperture therein. Thesocket member is drawn down against the support by a nut 19, engagingthe thread on the drop-pipes end 16, below the latternamed member andthe inte 'posed portion of the support. It will be observed that thesocken-the apertured portion of the support, the drop-pipe, and the nutare thus securely held together.

Directly above its connection to the droppipe, the socket member 18 isformed with a differentially-flared, internal recess, comprising anacute taper 2O and a more obtuse, frusto-conical part 21. The latterleads to a short, straight bore 22, that communicates with the interiorof the drop-pipe, and is entered by the upper threaded end thereof. Inlieu of the straight-flaring portions 20 and 21, a differentially curvedor dished recess could be employed, if preferred. lnserted in theportion 20, is a plug element 25, of corresponding taper, which may bemade of india rubber or other suitable material. rlhe engagement of theacute tapering surfaces of the parts 2O and 25 is productive ofsuflicient adherence to hold the latter in place. This plug element 25is connected up with the compressed-air pipe E, by means of a flexiblehose 26, made fast to a nipple 27, extending upwardly therefrom. isshown in Fig. l, the hose is arranged to conduct the air from the nippledown into the drop-pipe 17, through the intervening socket member. lt isunderstood that the air issues from the lower end of the drop-pipe, andthence rises into the can, thereby agitating the raw water therein andpurifying 'the same in a well-known manner. Y

The means for couplingthe plug 25 to the hose 26 is shown in Fig. Hl asconsisting of a tubular connection or stem 28.r having two heads 29 and30, which may differ in size as indicated. The smaller head 29 is at theend of the stem that passes through the plug, and is adapted to preventthe latter from coming ofi", after being inserted. The larger head 30,at the opposite extremity of the stem, is arranged to receive the lowerend of the flexible hose. Interiorly, the stem 28 may have differentialapertures 31 and 32. The larger aperture 31 extends from the top end ofthe stem downward, and Constitutes the major portion of the passage Cillill

therethrough, terminating in proximity to the head 29. The smalleraperture 32 runs centrally through the stem for the remainder of itslength. By virtue of this construction, the compressed air if used athigh pressure is led in full volume from the conduit E, through thenipple 27 and hose 26, and expanded to the desired pressure when passingthe aperture 32. But, if air at low pressure be employed, which thepresent invention is especially adapted for, the passage through thestem 28 may in that case be of uniform bore throughout.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The can A, or other recipient, having received its quota of raw water,the operator takes hold of the pipe support or carrier 11 and pushes itdown into the upper end of the cam or recipient. The resiliency of theSupport or carrier, supplemented by its central curvature and oppositelyinclined terminals, enables it to be readily adjusted to various sizesof containers, as hereinbefore explained. This adjustment beingeffected, and the drop-pipe 17 depending properly from the support orcarrier, with the socket member 18 engaging the threaded end 16 thereof,the plug element 25 is next inserted in the slightly tapering part 2O ofthe said member. Ordinarily, it will be found convenient to have theplug in coupling engagement with the hose 26, through the intermedium ofthe hollow-doubleheaded stem 28, and to keep the hose on the nipple 27of the air-conduit E. When the plug is entered into the socket, allthere remains to do then is to turn on the com pressed air, which flowsdirectly through the registering passages offered, respectively, by thenipple 27, hose 26, stem 28, socket 18, and drop-pipe 17. As beforestated, the compressed air expands in the differentiallyapertured stem28 to the required pressure, suiliciently to pass down through and outof the drop-'pipe and stream over the lower edge of the latter into thewater wherein it is immersed. The ascending air-bubbles, it isunderstood, agitate the water until the ice forming along the sides ofthe can or other recipient closes in around the pipe 17. Then the air isturned off at the conduit, whereafter the plug 25 is removed from thesocket 18. This being done, a nozzle or jet pertaining to a steam-pipe(not shown) is inserted in the upper portion 2() of the socket, andthence 1s guided, by sliding it over the middle part 21 thereof, intothe lower bore 22. The steam forced down through the socket anddepending pipe will melt the ice formed around the same, so that thepipe and its support or carrier may be removed from the can or recipientwithout the least diiiiculty. The operation is identical for all of thecans or recipients, and once the drop-pipe and its support or car* rierhave been taken out therefrom the ice is ready to be gathered in, oraccording to the current expression to be harvested While a certainpreferred embodiment of this device has been shown and described, itwill be understood that changes in the form, arrangements, proportions,sizes and details thereof may be made, without departing from the scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patentand claim, 1s

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with afreezing can, of a pipe depending thereinto, a compressed air conduit, abranch leading from the latter, a resilient plug element forming theterminal of said branch, a socket member provided at one end with arigidly surfaced recess adapted to detachably receive said element andhaving its other end threadingly engaged by the upper extremity of saidpipe, a support for carrying the combined pipe and socket, and a nut onthe threaded end of the pipe under said support serving to draw saidsocket thereagainst from the opposite side.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with afreezing can, of a compressed air conduit, a flexible branch leadingfrom the same, a socket member with a tapered recess at one end and athreaded bore at the opposite end thereof, a support underlying thelower end of said socket, a pipe depending into the can with its upperend engaging said bore of the socket and suspended thereby from saidsupport, a resilient plug element detachably entered into said recess,and a double headed tubular stem providing a rigid connection betweensaid element and said branch.

WALTER J MAY.

